Page 32 of In Cold Blood (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #1)

D espite Hugh protesting, Noah contacted High Peaks Police Department and they said they would send over an officer.

Hugh didn’t want to cause a scene. He was worried about what others would think of him and his family.

In his mind, it was par for the course in light of all that Luke was involved in before his death.

“They see you as a threat. That’s all. It’s nothing. It’s to be expected,” Hugh said.

“But it doesn’t have to be accepted. Local PD needs to know,” he said, peering out the window as he waited for them to arrive.

“I really wish you hadn’t called them,” Hugh said, topping up his drink. “I don’t want my neighbors talking.”

“That would require you to speak to them.”

“I speak to them.”

“Sure you do.”

Finally, Hugh shifted from orange juice to the strong stuff, opening the alcohol cabinet and pouring two fingers into a glass. All that talk about not drinking went right out the window.

“It’s my truck today. Your house tomorrow. We don’t know when this will end. They need to know and you need to think about security. ”

“Oh, nonsense.”

Hugh grumbled.

As he continued to mutter in the background, Noah placed a call to the rental company to update them and see if they could get him a replacement vehicle. He wasn’t worried about the cost of repairing the truck or the legal repercussions of the incident as he’d taken out the best insurance.

“Just borrow my truck. I can use the BMW. It will save you some money.”

“Until it gets wrecked like this, then you’ll have another thing to hold over my head.”

“Geesh, Noah. Do you ever let up?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

In many ways, they were like two peas in a pod. Noah had considered that perhaps the reason they butted heads so easily was that they were more alike than he cared to admit.

Bright headlights cut through the surrounding dense woodland, illuminating the twisted branches as a vehicle made its way up the winding driveway. The beam danced and flickered, casting elongated shadows as it drew near.

“They’re here.”

A white High Peaks Police Department Chevy SUV rolled into the driveway right behind his truck, lights flashing blue and red. The headlights shone directly on his truck, casting a brilliant white light and illuminating the path.

“Great,” Hugh said unenthusiastically before he downed the remainder of his drink.

Noah went out to meet them.

An officer stepped out, taking in the eerie beauty of the forest before making his way over to the truck.

“Good evening.”

“Can’t say it’s good.”

He turned and looked at Noah. “You really are a dead ringer for him. Sorry. Bad choice of words. Officer Morgan.” He stuck out his hand. They exchanged a firm handshake.

“Noah Sutherland.”

The officer looked past him.

“Hey, Hugh,” Morgan said.

“Aaron.”

His father knew them all. New. Old. Even though he’d left behind his position with the county, having Ray as a part of the PD had only increased his familiarity with law enforcement staff. “I was just telling my son here that it’s nothing. We can clean it up.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call this nothing, Hugh,” Aaron said, backing up and taking a few photos. “Better to be safe than sorry. How about we go inside so we can talk and…”

Right then Noah heard tires crunching over gravel.

It was a black cruiser with the familiar yellow emblem on the side and the words High Peaks County Sheriff. The vehicle pulled up behind Aaron’s SUV.

Deputy Thorne climbed out of the Dodge Charger.

Hugh ran a hand over his head. “County? Oh, that’s all we need. Did you phone her?”

“You’re damn right,” Noah said. “I figured she should be aware. It’s related to Luke.”

Hugh sighed and headed back in with Aaron.

Noah remained.

“Thanks for coming.”

“No problem. I was in the area.” She stopped in her tracks. “Well, that’s going to cost a small fortune. I hope you took the best insurance.”

“Always,” he said. “Parish not with you?”

“I’m there if he needs assistance. I’m not his assistant.

If you get my drift,” she said, taking her flashlight and washing it over the truck to get a better look.

Callie skirted around, got down on her knees and shone the light underneath, then rose and looked at him over the hood.

“Anyway, Parish is interviewing people. Doing the rounds. You know, boots on the street kinds of stuff.” She paused.

“Well, look. I’ll have local PD dust it down and get some prints off this, though I imagine whoever did it took precautions. ”

“Right,” Noah replied.

She looked at him staring at the truck.

“Did you see anyone following you?”

“No.”

“Who else knew you were coming here tonight?”

“My ex. I think that’s about it.”

Callie gestured toward the house and they went inside.

Aaron and Callie peppered them with questions: who, where, when, what, why.

The usual. As the questioning drew to a close, Callie conferred with Aaron outside.

Noah watched. He couldn’t hear what they were discussing but he saw Aaron walk back to his SUV and get on the radio. Callie came back into the house.

“Mr. Sutherland. I noticed you have cameras outside. I gather you’d be willing to provide a copy of the recording. Might give us something to work with.”

“Can’t do that,” Hugh said.

Noah frowned. Hugh was quick to explain. “Sorry. It’s because there is no recording. They’re dummy cameras.”

“Are you kidding me?” Noah said.

“What? Do you think I’m shelling out hundreds of dollars for crap that will break down the second the temperature drops below freezing?

I know times have changed, Noah, but I don’t have that much confidence in technology.

Hell, they can’t even make a decent phone nowadays,” he said, lifting his old flip phone.

It was typical. Like many his age, he was slow to move into the future.

It was easier to bellyache about the times and reminisce.

“It’s okay,” Callie said. “We can video canvass the neighborhood. Although it’s dark, we might be able to at least determine the make and rough estimate of the year of the vehicle. If we’re lucky we might even nab ourselves a license plate.”

Hugh was quick to answer. “Best of luck with that. You’d need one hell of a camera to pick up anything along this street at night. Zero lighting. It’s as dark as hell out there.”

“And you didn’t see anything?” Callie asked again.

Noah shook his head. She nodded, looking around. Her eyes fell upon the manila folder with the police report inside.

“Any other damage?”

“No, that was it,” Noah replied. As he was saying that, Ray burst through the front door all wide-eyed and worried.

“Pops?”

“In here,” Noah replied.

“Great. Why don’t we throw a block party!” Hugh said, going over to the alcohol cabinet and pouring himself another one. Ray looked windswept. He was in grey sweatpants, a white T-shirt, and Nike sneakers.

“Everyone okay? Aaron gave me the heads-up,” Ray said.

“Yes, we’re okay. Is this necessary?” Hugh asked, turning back to Callie. “If you don’t mind, I would like to enjoy my steak before it goes cold.”

Callie wasn’t done yet. “Since Friday, have you noticed any other unusual or suspicious behavior in the area?”

Hugh rolled his eyes. “Lady, you are preaching to the choir.”

“Just doing my job.”

“Yeah, well I was doing mine while you were still in diapers.”

“Ignore him,” Noah said, motioning for Callie to step outside so she didn’t have to put up with his father’s abuse.

He gestured to Ray to speak to him. He didn’t need to explain.

Ray would no doubt inform other officers and have them drive by the property on a more frequent basis just to ensure that no harm would come to Hugh, even though he wasn’t the one being targeted.

Outside, Noah ran a hand over his face, feeling a wave of tiredness.

“I’m sorry. My father tends to speak his mind.”

“I’m used to it. I was going to ask if you’ve run into any trouble since you’ve been here. Anything new you think I should know?”

Noah had to wonder if she was fishing.

“Well, now that you say it.” He glanced back at the house and motioned her to follow a short distance away just in case he was within earshot of his father through an open window. “I’ll be heading back home soon.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“However, you recall I mentioned this morning about the cabin that Luke was renting before his death. Kerri wasn’t aware of it. At least that I know of.”

She nodded.

“Remember I said there was a lot of material at the house? Incident reports, news articles, photos, and information about Operation Heat Wave. People Luke was looking into. I was hoping to box it up and give it to you and Parish. I was wondering if instead, you wanted to drop by tomorrow evening and collect it? Maybe have supper?”

“Supper?”

“Yeah. You do eat, right?”

Her eyebrow shot up. Noah could tell she was hesitant or assumed something else.

“Oh. Um. Look, bring Parish. I should probably smooth things out with him anyway before I leave. I have all this meat and veggies in the fridge. It would be a shame for it to go to waste.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“No pressure. I just figured we could kill two birds with one stone. Minus the killing and… stoning…” He trailed off, wondering what the hell he was saying as he got tongue-tied.

Callie smiled and looked away. “Well, I should get back to it. Speak with Officer Morgan. You should encourage your father to install a proper security system. The town isn’t what it used to be.”

“People keep telling me that,” he said. “I will.”

As she went to walk away, Noah thought of something.

“Oh, Callie. I mean, Deputy Thorne. I spoke with my ex-wife today. She confirmed Jack Grayson found the body of Erikson and he was the one that leaked it to her. If you haven’t done so already, you should speak with him. He knows more than he’s telling.”

“We’ve got this, Noah.”

“I trust you do. But whatever people think about Luke. Whatever connection they are trying to make between him, Erikson, and drugs. They’ve got it wrong. He wasn’t a dirty cop. I guarantee you that.”

“Would you lay a bet on that?” she asked.

“I would bet my kids’ life,” he shot back in an instant.

Callie regarded him for a second.

“Trust me, that’s a bet you don’t want to make,” she muttered before walking away. Noah could have sworn that she knew something he didn’t, something that may have only been shared between her and Luke.

“Oh. Dinner will be at six,” he called out. She didn’t turn, just stuck a hand in the air to acknowledge she’d heard.

Back inside, Noah found Ray flipping through the police report. One thing Hugh had been right about was investigation was everything. It was in their blood. Hugh had filled Ray in on the direction the current case was heading, based on Ray’s reaction.

“If they think they are going to paint Luke in a bad light, they are mistaken. I’m going to have a word with County,” Ray said, tossing the folder down. “What an insult!” He charged toward the front door but Noah stopped him by grabbing his arm.

“Leave it. You’ll only make things worse.”

“Worse? How the hell can it get any worse? Does it take another one of us to be murdered for them to wake up and smell the coffee? Luke was a damn fine officer and I won’t have them spin it another way.

And you. You should be speaking with Lena.

If she catches wind of what’s in that report, it will be front-page news.

Kerri and the kids don’t need to see that. ”

“It won’t happen.”

“Really? Would you like me to show you the last few issues of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise ? Lena has had her eyes on County and Luke since the Cyrus case was dropped. I know you’ve been away, Noah, but maybe it’s time you catch up.

Anyway, I’ve gotta go.” He looked back at Hugh. “You good, Pops?”

He waved him off with a mouthful of drink.

“Don’t let him drink too much,” Ray muttered before heading out. Noah looked out and watched him walk right past Callie and Aaron without saying anything. He breathed in deeply then released it slowly.

“So? Are you going to reconsider sticking around?” Hugh asked.

“This doesn’t change anything. I’m still leaving after the weekend.”

Hugh snorted. “Then I guess I’ll be seeing you at my funeral.

” He walked out back to continue to work on the steaks.

Noah had a good mind to leave but instead, he stayed.

He wasn’t sure if it was because he was genuinely worried for his father, or interested to hear what his loose lips might say now that he had a few drinks in him.

Noah scooped up the manila folder to see what else the cops had so far.